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Following a long-running tenure on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the performers from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who described it as a spectacle “stuck in the past”.

Now, nearly ten years later, the showgirl, or at least the showgirl style, is making a comeback.

A King of Sparkle

Known as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. In a recent auction, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, seven times its estimated price, while a silver and gold beaded bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.

“I think it looks more attractive for the emerging artists who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he told a media outlet. “Today's artists are pushing toward a show-stopping, more dramatic, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”

A Musical Revival

It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the centre of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to Taylor Swift. Recently, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The bedazzled bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and glittering headpiece were perfect for a record named The Life of a Showgirl.

She has company. This year, showgirl inspirations have been adopted by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across arena stages in sequins, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against theatrical sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers fluttered giant plumed accessories.

Pulling from History

Modern stars and other chart toppers also reference 19th-century performances, including classic theater and dance line references. The outcome are poles apart from the 1990s era Britney Spears era of short shirts and cargo pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that came before them.

But certain observers are enthusiastic with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “treated as an catch-all phrase encompassing everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”

The Coveted Retro Style

For gen Z and young adult stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a famous actress paid tribute to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actor wore a translucent beaded dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, the singer wore a collection of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among fashion collectors.

“The showgirl aesthetic bring about nostalgia for a historical elegance,” says a historian, head of special collections at the an academic institution, who researches the legacy of showgirls. “Today it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been updated. It has got all the elegance, the sparkles and the glitter but without the exposure.”

A Than Just Fashion: An Icon of Vegas

The expert says showgirls are key to the identity of Sin City. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was surrounded by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any traditional showgirl productions, the historian says they are still used as an symbol of the city, being present at corporate events and in promotional material. “The showgirl is still a lasting symbol of Las Vegas glitz and glamour,” the expert says.

An Allure of Transformation

Nancy Hardy says the magical transformation of a showgirl persona is part of the appeal. This is a notion Taylor Swift alludes to in a latest behind-the-scenes film that captures the backstage action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, workouts and numerous performances across 21 countries, each lasting 3.5 hours.

She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to completing an endurance race in stilettos every night”. Her headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could recover before I made my entrance. You are perspiring the whole time but creating this image that it’s simple and stunning and magical.”

It could be this is where the appeal of the showgirl fantasy really is found. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for a break from reality. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always represented dreams, idealism and a world where no one makes a mistake.